Fire Chapter 7: The Solstice Festival
by Wren Sharpbeak
Summary: King Bumi plans a special event to celebrate the liberation of Omashu in conjunction with the Summer solstice, but the festivities may be ruined when Azula shows up to the party.
1. Ch 1 Advent

**Disclaimer: **the characters and places in the following work of fan-fiction are the intellectual property of Nickelodeon and, as such, they reserve the right to remove this story at their sole discretion.

_**This story is the **__**seventh**__** in a series, so please read**__ (and review)__** the other six before continuing!**_

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**Previously on Avatar**

"We can start by retaking Omashu," General How stated, formulating his plan out loud and pointing to various locations on the map as he spoke. "Now that Long Feng is no longer needlessly tying up military resources, we can send aid to the resistance hiding in the mountains."

* * *

"We intercepted a caravan of Fire Nation explosives en route to Omashu," Suki said grimly. 

"They aren't explosives," replied the prince with a hint of confusion. Looking over the box, he announced thoughtfully, "they're…fireworks."

* * *

"If they're shipping toys and fireworks to Omashu for Solstice…" the Avatar realized out loud, "then that means-" 

"There are civilians in the city," Sokka continued ominously, "families…"

"And _children_," finished Zuko gravely.

* * *

"…We snuck in trying to find some other way to take back the city that didn't involve killing everyone," Sokka insisted. "Nothing was supposed to happen until we got back, but unfortunately, General Bloodlust down there decided to ignore the plan." 

The governor stared in disbelief at the boy's disgruntled rant, and then narrowed his eyes distrustfully.

"Lies," he hissed. "All lies!" Just as he was about to call for his guards again, he was once again interrupted by yet another newcomer.

"The boy speaks the truth, Yaozu."

"And why should I trust the words of a traitor and some water tribe brat?"

"Because they're trying to stop a massacre," declared Aang.

* * *

The sounds of battle raged in the streets of Omashu, intermingled with the cries of terrified women and children. Governor Yaozu gulped a bit as he realized he had long since lost all control over the situation. Turning to the Avatar, he eyed him uncertainly. 

"Then you intend to end this butchery?"

"I can't," Aang replied quietly, "but _you_ can."

"Are you suggesting I _surrender_?" asked Yaozu angrily, and then in a worried undertone, he whispered as his hand rose to his neck, "Ozai will have my head."

"If you want to save innocent lives, then the only thing you _can_ do is surrender," Bumi insisted solemnly.

"_Please_," Aang added earnestly, "this has to _stop_."

The governor bowed low before Aang.

"Name your terms, Avatar," he intoned, "we surrender."

**

* * *

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**Book 3: Fire**

**Chapter 7: The Solstice Festival**

The morning sun rose magnificently into the clear blue skies over Omashu, a glorious herald for the swiftly approaching summer solstice. Even the smelting fires in the city were dormant, so that nothing existed to mar the perfection of dawn.

Iroh sat at a low table in the main room of the accommodations they'd been given: a nice apartment in the middle tier near the governor's house. He had just poured a cup of tea when Sokka and Katara entered the room. The older man looked up, and then glancing at the bedroom beyond them, noticed they were the only ones there.

"Where are the others?" he asked curiously.

"They left earlier," Sokka yawned as he replied. "Aang said he was taking Zuko and Toph on a quick tour of the city."

Iroh glanced out the window at Omashu's sprawling tiers.

"In a city this large," he mused doubtfully, "I'm sure it will be anything but 'quick'..."

* * *

Aang's face was brimming with joy and excitement as he leaned out over the front of the stone bin hurtling down the delivery chute. 

"HA-ha!" he shouted with glee, "Yeah!"

Behind him, Toph had her arms flung into the air, a huge grin spread across her face as she also whooped.

"Woooo-hoo!" she laughed.

Then there was Zuko, sitting at the back of the bin wearing an expression of sheer terror, with his hands gripping the sides so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he shrieked.

* * *

Sokka's ears caught the sound as he was about to take a bite of his breakfast, and he turned to look out the window just as the delivery bin carrying Aang, Toph, and Zuko went rocketing by. 

"Actually," he remarked casually to Iroh, before stuffing the food in his mouth, "I don't think it will take them long at all."

* * *

A short while later, the earthen bin scraped to a halt, sending up a small cloud of dust as it reached the delivery station at the bottom of the chute. Toph and Aang both smiled excitedly as they hopped out, while Zuko remained sitting there, white-faced and windblown. 

"That was great!" exclaimed Toph.

"I thought you'd like it," Aang said happily. Then noticing Zuko, asked, "You okay?"

"I think my stomach is still somewhere on the middle tier," the prince answered shakily, starting to turn slightly green.

"Sooo…I guess that means you don't want to see the other side of the city?" inquired Aang timidly.

Not trusting his ability to move without falling over, Zuko merely fixed an acidic glare on the young air bender that suggested Aang would be fried to a crisp if he tried to instigate another 'tour'. The boy gulped slightly with a sheepish grin as he turned to his other friend.

"Um, I'll see you back at the top, Toph," Aang said hastily, and in the blink of an eye the only thing filling the space where he'd been standing was a swirl of air.

Toph turned toward Zuko, who was now lurching his way over to the wall of the delivery station. She could tell that he'd not enjoyed the 'tour' one bit, and while she found this thoroughly amusing, she did feel a little bad for him.

They hadn't exactly given him much choice in the matter, having jokingly threatened to encase him in stone and drag him along. Of course, now that she thought about it, he'd given in a lot faster than she'd expected, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was because he really thought they'd make good on their threat, or if he was simply so regretful about the things he'd done in the past that he was willing to go through just about anything to earn their friendship. Somehow, she had a feeling it was the latter.

"Would you at least like a ride back up?" she offered kindly as she stepped into the delivery system's elevator shaft.

"No thanks," he replied weakly as he nursed his churning stomach and sat down, "I think I'll walk."

Not wanting to press the issue or humiliate him further by making fun of his predicament, she merely shrugged, feigning disinterest.

"Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, we'll be at the north chute near the city gates in just a bit."

And with that, she lifted her hands and set the earth-bending-powered elevator into motion.

Zuko let out a long breath as the green tinge began to leave his face and he felt that his stomach was finally catching up with the rest of his body. He sat there in the shade of the building wondering how he'd been persuaded to go on such a ridiculous ride in the first place.

"Crazy air bender's going to be the death of me," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Commander Huo stood on the observation deck of his ship, staring out at the harbor in the distance. He didn't even turn as he heard footfalls behind him. Lieutenant Jee shifted nervously in the doorway. 

"It seems the bird that went missing several days ago has been…found," Jee announced. Huo took a deep breath.

"Let me guess," he drawled mildly, "it came back with a message from Fire Lord Ozai."

Jee stepped forward with a scroll in his hand and held it out to his commanding officer.

"How'd you know?" he said dryly.

Huo only threw the other man a grim smile as he took the proffered missive. He opened the page and read it over, nodding as if it contained nothing he didn't already know. Rolling it back up, he addressed Jee.

"Inform the princess that I would like to see her," he said briskly, "We have some… _things_…to discuss."

Jee gave a curt bow.

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

Aang and Toph were on their way down the north chute while Zuko sat against the wall of the parcel station, having decided a lift back up to the middle tier wasn't such a bad idea after all. He hadn't been there long when the sound of a slight commotion around the corner caught his attention. Curious, he got to his feet and headed out toward the main square. 

Zuko wandered cautiously out into the plaza and looked around. The main gates of the city had been opened, and a throng of earth kingdom refugees had begun shuffling in.

The commotion he'd heard was their startled reaction to the changes that had been made to the city. Their faces were a mix of shock, confusion, sorrow, and anger, and a low murmur rumbled through the crowd as people reacted to what they saw.

"Oh my…"

"It's awful!"

"What did they _do_?"

"Our city…"

"My home…"

At first, he didn't quite know what was wrong. But then he looked around at the city and saw the red tiled roofs, the stone buildings blackened by the soot of smelting forges, the crimson banners fluttering in the breeze, and he began to understand.

This was not the Omashu they'd left; it was alien now, it was…Fire Nation. And to make matters worse, the people who had taken over the city were still here, walking _their_ streets, living in _their_ homes.

An inexplicable sensation of regret and shame settled over the prince. Even though he knew this wasn't technically his fault, it didn't diminish his feelings of guilt, or his despair at knowing there was probably no way to undo the damage.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice when Aang and Toph wandered up to stand beside him until one of them spoke.

"What's going on?" asked Toph.

Aang gazed at the shocked and dismayed faces of the returning citizens, and immediately understood what was wrong.

"The people of Omashu have come back…," he explained, then he hung his head sadly, "But it's not what they expected."

"What do you mean?" she asked, slightly confused. She could sense the dismay coming from the returning refugees, but without being able to see the city and the drastic way it had changed, she had no idea what was causing their distress.

Aang and Zuko exchanged uncertain looks, wondering how they could possibly describe to their blind friend what the refugees had come home to.

"The city is…different now," Aang answered sorrowfully. "It's not the same as when they left."

"But it's nothing that can't be fixed, right?" she reasoned, "I mean, I can tell there's a bunch of metal plating on the walls, but…how hard can it be to take all that down?"

"It's not just the way it _looks_, Toph," Zuko added seriously. "The city is filled with colonists from the Fire Nation who are afraid that if they return home they'll face punishment for surrendering."

"What kind of punishment?" Toph asked warily. Zuko looked at the faces of his countrymen, peering out from doorways and windows, some apprehensive, others with thinly veiled animosity.

"You don't want to know," he responded quietly.

"Oh," she murmured as the depth of the predicament became clear. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"I don't know," answered Aang thoughtfully, shifting his gaze from the heartbroken people of Omashu to the unreceptive Fire Nation colonists. He had managed to save the citizens, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, but now they were all displaced, and it occurred to him that the whole world would be like this if (when!) he succeeded in ending the war.

He had to fix it somehow. He was the Avatar. Restoring peace and balance in the world was _his_ duty. His face settled into a look of firm resolve, as he decided that _this_ would be his first true test. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with determination.

"But I'm going to try."

**

* * *

Personal Note:** I can't help but feel that I completely bombed on the last 'episode' I published (_Reclaiming Omashu_). I wanted an unexpected resolution to the crisis, going for 'tension' rather than 'action', but instead I think I wound up with something far too anticlimactic for most people's tastes. This has led me to re-evaluate, once again, my ability as a writer to see this 'season' all the way through to the end. 

I recently told someone that trying to build on the work of another author, and still maintain the integrity of the original work, has to be one of the gutsiest challenges a writer can undertake, and that the series of Avatar stories I am currently working on is the hardest form of writing I have ever done. But the only reason I am doing it is because I firmly believe that fans like me are desperate for it in the absence of the third season.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again:

_**I don't write for myself, I write for Avatar Fans**_.

But the fact that I have absolutely NO idea how many people are even reading this series makes it difficult for me to decide whether or not I should continue. Since FanFiction only counts raw hits, and not unique hits, I don't know if there are 400 people reading, or 40 people reading it 10 times each, or if it's just the 10 or so people who leave regular reviews who are reading it 40 times each. I simply don't have any way of knowing with so little feedback.

So if every person who is following these stories would please take the time to leave just ONE review (good or bad) at some point during this 'episode', it would give me a much more accurate picture of my audience and help me determine if I should even bother with this project anymore or not.


	2. Ch 2 Accord

Iroh knocked softly on the doorframe of the governor's room.

"May I speak with you?" he asked kindly.

"You can save your breath, _General_," Yaozu growled acidly as he continued to stare out the window. "I don't need advice from the man who betrayed his country at the North Pole, and who's even now helping the Avatar destroy our country."

Iroh took a few steps into the room and folded his hands calmly within the sleeves of his robes. But when he spoke, his voice was stern.

"I have betrayed no one, Yaozu," he said firmly. "There is more at stake here than a nation's pride. Just as you surrendered last night to save the lives of innocents, I fought to protect the Moon Spirit, and promised to train the Avatar, for the same reason. Zhao's arrogance would have destroyed us all." Iroh took a deep breath before finishing evenly, "And Sozin's war will do the same if Ozai succeeds in finishing it."

"And what do you expect me to do about it?" snapped Yaozu, whirling around angrily. "I'm no traitor."

"If my brother finds out you lost this city, then you might as well be," Iroh insisted adamantly. "Ozai does not care for the welfare of these people. He will see your surrender as an act of weakness, and you and I both know how tolerant he is of those he feels are weak," he finished pointedly. Iroh bowed his head at the memory of his nephew's scream as he added, "You were _there_."

At this, Yaozu turned away and closed his eyes, as if trying to shut out the horrible sight he had witnessed the day of that fateful Agni Kai.

"So I should hide here like a coward until the Fire Lord retakes the city and hauls me off for my punishment?" the governor said bitterly.

"He won't take back the city if he doesn't know he's lost it," Iroh answered enigmatically.

Yaozu glanced over his shoulder at the renowned general, not daring to believe that there might be some hope for this seemingly desolate situation.

"What do you mean?" asked Yaozu suspiciously. Iroh smiled; a sly and crafty grin to match his response.

"King Bumi has a proposition you might like to hear."

* * *

Yaozu tapped his finger lightly on the edge of the teacup and looked around the table at the three men seated with him. He'd listened to Bumi, Iroh, and How present their offer, and now they waited patiently for a response. 

"So what's in it for you?" the governor finally said, looking to Bumi with narrowed eyes.

The old king cracked a lopsided grin, but it was General How who answered the question.

"By allowing the Fire Lord to think he still has control of Omashu, you will continue to receive communications about what is going on with the war: information about troop placement and movement. We would naturally have access to all of those messages."

The governor was aghast, his face a mix of indignation and outrage.

"My surrender may have put me in a position of treason," he hissed angrily, "but I refuse to act as a _spy_!"

"Then don't," shrugged Iroh unconcernedly as he poured himself another cup of tea. "Remember you are being given a choice. If these terms are not acceptable, you are free to return to the Fire Nation…and beg for Ozai's mercy," he finished slyly.

Yaozu's face went pale at this last statement; he was trapped and he knew it. With a heavy sigh, he hung his head in resignation.

"Then it seems I have no choice at all."

Iroh was suddenly reminded of his nephew, and the difficult decisions he'd been faced with recently. So when Bumi spoke up, the retired general was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu.

"Oh, but you always have a _choice_," Bumi insisted with a wily grin, "You just have to decide which consequences you can live with."

Looking around the table once more, Yaozu wondered if this hadn't been their plan all along, and that the supposed 'unauthorized attack' was just part of the ploy. With one last sigh, he made his decision.

"Considering this may be the only consequence that lets me live at all," he said resignedly, "I will accept your offer."

* * *

Azula was calm and collected as she strode out onto the observation deck, and she paid no mind as one of the crewmen closed the door to the bridge, giving her and the commander some privacy. Huo stood at the railing, keeping his back to the princess, not even acknowledging her entry. 

"I was told you requested an audience with me," she announced with mock cordiality, "but since I would hate to keep you from your duties, I thought you'd appreciate a visit instead."

"I'm humbled by your consideration, Highness," Huo responded dryly.

Finally turning to face her, he handed her a roll of parchment and noticed that she took it with a sight snap of impatience. She scanned the message eagerly, her face a careful mask of indifference. But Huo didn't miss the satisfied glint in her eyes.

"It seems I and my crew will be denied the further pleasure of your company as we return to the Fire Nation," he said casually. "When we arrive at port, General Takeo will be at your personal disposal to assist in any way you need." He pulled forth another scroll, looking at it almost regretfully before he handed it to her. "Here is the warrant…the crew has already been informed of its contents, so you needn't bother posting any copies here."

Azula's face broke into a smug grin as she scanned the new page.

"Well, Commander," she said briskly, rolling up the parchment and maintaining her pleased smirk, "Since this is where we apparently part ways, I'll leave you to your…duties…and bid you a safe journey home."

With that, Azula turned and left the deck, her face reflecting a delight she hadn't felt in weeks. Things were going just perfectly.

* * *

"This is a disaster," declared Sokka, looking out over the lower tier of Omashu. 

Aang sat dejectedly on the balcony railing while the others stood nearby, also staring down at the city in dismay. The tension in the air was palpable, and it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before things came to a head and broke out into violence.

"The Fire Nation can't possibly stay here with the citizens of Omashu," he continued, animatedly, "they'll wind up killing each other and all our efforts to save everyone will have been for nothing."

"They can't go home, Sokka," Aang explained quietly, "they'd be punished for surrendering."

"Well how bad can _that_ be?" the warrior asked innocuously.

Zuko fixed a meaningful sidelong look on him, keeping his scar in full view of Sokka's vision.

"Do you _really_ have to ask?" he said emotionlessly.

Sokka felt a pang of guilt as he realized what a stupid question that had been, and he hung head with a sigh.

"Your country is seriously messed up," the boy muttered unhappily before he could think better of it.

Zuko only let out a sigh of his own. Not long ago, such a statement might have infuriated the young prince, but now…there was no denying the truth of that statement.

"Well, there has to _some_ way to resolve this," Katara chimed in, trying to sound more hopeful than she felt.

"We have a city full of hot-headed fire benders and bull-headed earth benders," Toph responded dolefully, "it's a bad combination that can only lead to trouble."

"But you and Zuko get along," Aang pointed out optimistically.

"That's because Prince Charming and I have never had any personal disagreements," she defended rationally, "and I'm not going to hold it against _him_ just because his dad is a tyrannical maniac."

"Thanks, Toph," said Zuko sarcastically, crossing his arms. She only shrugged.

"It's true," she insisted negligently, "you can't help it if you're Fire Nation, and this war has ruined your life just as much as it has anyone else's."

"I suppose I can't argue with that," he admitted sadly, as he leaned onto the balcony rail again.

Katara instinctively reached a hand out toward the prince as if to comfort him, but then it dropped uselessly to her side as she realized how insignificant such a gesture would be, and doubted that it would be well received. Lately, she just couldn't decide how to treat him. Now that she'd started getting past her animosity and distrust, she felt compelled to try and connect with him on some level, but his situation was so completely foreign to her that she never knew quite what to say.

There was a long pause as the group continued to gaze at the disgruntled people below. The whole situation just seemed so overwhelmingly discouraging, and the effect it seemed to be having on Zuko only made them feel worse.

"This war is definitely making everyone here in Omashu miserable," Katara finally said mournfully, "even the people from the Fire Nation. It's just a shame we can't get all of _them_ to realize that too."

Upon hearing this, Aang's face brightened, and he hopped up from the ledge he'd been sitting on.

"Maybe that's the answer!" he said brightly.

"Maybe _what_ is the answer?" grunted Toph dispassionately.

"The civilians from the Fire Nation have no where to go right now, and they're just as unhappy about that as the Omashu residents," he explained excitedly. "If we could help all these people see how hard this war is on everyone, including the Fire Nation, then maybe they might all come to an understanding, or at least learn to tolerate each other until the war is over and everyone can go home."

"They've been enemies their whole _lives_, Aang," Sokka explained with exasperation. "They're not going to just let bygones be bygones and start playing nice," he said snidely.

"But _we_ did," Aang insisted moving his hand in a circle to indicate the group before pointing to Zuko, "and _he_ even chased us all over the world!"

They all looked at the banished prince, who only glanced down at the ground thoughtfully.

"He does have a point," Zuko agreed.

"Yeah, but that's different!" Sokka argued, "Zuko doesn't like this war any more than we do."

Well," interjected Aang reasonably, "who's to say there aren't more people from the Fire Nation who disagree with it too? Jeong Jeong deserted because he thought the war was wrong."

"And so did Chey," added Katara helpfully.

"Okay, fine," Sokka finally acquiesced reluctantly, "So there might be others who want peace, but how do you plan to go about getting _these_ people," he waved a hand at the city streets below, "to see eye to eye?"

"I have an idea," replied Aang with less certainty and enthusiasm, putting a hand to chin, "but I'll need Bumi and Yaozu's help to pull it off. Come on," he added with returning confidence, "I'll need you guys too."

And with that, he hurried off to find the governor and the king. Katara and Toph shrugged and followed, leaving Sokka and Zuko staring after them.

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?" the prince mused aloud.

"That's just your instincts," Sokka explained glumly, then clapped a hand companionably on Zuko's shoulder as he added ruefully, "don't worry, you get used to it."

The two looked at each other seriously for a moment before Sokka walked off to follow the others. Zuko let out a disgruntled breath then headed after them, muttering petulantly as he did so.

"That's what worries me."

**

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Personal Note:** I want to thank everyone who responded on the last chapter. Your input and encouragement is greatly appreciated, but mostly I'm just happy to know that people are reading. 

If FanFiction had a better way of showing readership, I wouldn't be as bothered by those silent readers who just want to enjoy the story. As something of a lurker myself, I certainly understand how awkward it can be to think of something to say in a review. So please don't think I am just looking for praise. It's great to get that (_really_ great), but all I want at this point is some justification in numbers. My family teases me mercilessly about my 'Avatard Obsession', so it would be nice to have some facts use in my defense.

Anyway, thanks again for speaking up. It helps fuel my resolve to continue this venture despite what my friends and family think.


	3. Ch 3 Announcement

Mai sat down on a small bench and leaned back against the wall of the tiny cabin she shared with Ty Lee, letting out a lackluster sigh.

"I have never been so bored in my whole life," she complained unenthusiastically. "How anyone could live like this for three years is beyond me."

Ty Lee's head poked out from between her own feet in an impossibly bizarre pose, and a mischievous gleam lit up in her eyes as she realized Mai was referring to Prince Zuko. Pulling herself out of the strange contortion, she sidled up to her doleful friend with a sweet smirk, leaning her head on Mai's shoulder.

"Anyone?" she sang knowingly, "or a certain _someone_?"

Mai glanced down into Ty Lee's batting eyelashes, wishing she hadn't said anything, and wondering what possessed her to in the first place. Really, she knew better.

Without a word, Mai wedged her hand between herself and her friend's cheek, giving a forceful shove that knocked the acrobat clear off the settee where she landed on the floor with a soft thump. Unperturbed, Ty Lee propped her head and elbows up on the seat.

"Aw, poor Mai," she teased good-naturedly, "you must be _so_ disappointed you didn't get to see Zuko in Ba Sing Se."

"Will you knock it off, already?" groaned Mai crossly, closing her eyes as she rested her head against the wall, "it's no funnier now than it was when we were kids."

"Sorry," Ty Lee apologized with surprising sincerity. "It really isn't as much _fun_ now either," she admitted, then added quietly, "he's not the same anymore."

At this, Mai's eyes flew open in shock and she turned to look at her friend.

"You mean you saw him?" she asked incredulously, her voice for once losing some of its practiced monotone.

"Yeah," Ty Lee replied sadly, "I did."

"When?"

"Right after the Dai Li took Azula away; I snuck another peek and saw him before we ran off."

"How…" Mai stumbled timidly on the question, "how bad is it?"

"I only caught a glimpse, but…it's really bad," she said with uncharacteristic solemnity. "The whole left side of his face is scarred. I almost didn't recognize him." Looking up, she asked uncomfortably, "Do you know why he…he was…you know…"

"Was banished?" finished Mai coolly, her unemotional mask fitted properly back in place. Leaning back against the wall again, she shrugged unconcernedly.

"My dad was there, but he didn't tell me much about it, he only said Zuko wouldn't defend himself in an Agni Kai against the Fire Lord, and was banished for refusing to fight."

A dreary silence fell between the two girls as they each became lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Ty Lee let out a small sigh.

"I miss the circus," she remarked longingly.

"Then why did you leave?"

Ty Lee regarded her friend wistfully for a moment then shrugged, her voice once again taking on some of its usual carefree perk.

"Because Azula always gets her way."

* * *

Throughout the city, Earth Kingdom soldiers and Kyoshi Warriors were grudgingly working alongside the Fire Nation guards to get Omashu residents back into their homes. It was a dismal and incredibly nerve-racking procedure. Resentful and often angry glares were exchanged as the people from opposing countries passed each other in the streets; the Fire Nation citizens having to pack up their belongings and be shepherded to a waiting area while the rightful homeowners returned to their residences. 

Only the disorienting nature of the almost surreal situation kept people in line. But once that wore off, the hostility lying under the surface was bound to erupt into trouble, and everyone knew it. Omashu was like an unlit bomb, just waiting for a spark to ignite the fuse.

As they made their way to the palace to see Bumi, Aang began to have second thoughts about his plan to get the people on better terms. The last time he had tried something like this, it hadn't gone well at all, and he'd finally had to lie just to get the two feuding tribes to let go of their quarrel. There was no way such a tactic would work again.

"So what is this grand idea of yours?" asked Sokka.

"Well," Aang started hesitantly, "you remember those two tribes that crossed the Great Divide with us?"

"You mean the oh-so-prim-and-proper, every-hair-always-in-place Gan Jin?" Sokka said looking pointedly at his sister, who at the moment was busy fiddling with the beads that latched her hair loops into her bun.

Katara's eyes popped open at the thinly veiled insult, and then dropping her hands quickly to her sides, she gave her brother a meaningfully dirty look.

"And the slovenly, loud-mouthed, no-manners-whatsoever Zhang?" she added dryly.

"Yeah," drawled Aang touchily, "those guys." His eyes darted between the two siblings with a hint of irritation at their barbs toward each other.

"I take they didn't get along?" chimed in Toph sardonically.

"They practically hated each other," Aang replied, "but they did finally work together once they had a common goal."

"But, Aang, it didn't last," Katara reminded him, "they went right back to fighting as soon as we got out of the canyon."

"Yeah," added Sokka, "if you hadn't made up that story about how their feud didn't start the way they thought it did, they'd probably still be at each other's throats."

"But that's just it," Aang countered, "Once they believed there was no good reason to fight, they accepted each other. We just need to do the same thing here."

"I guess that makes sense," agreed Katara doubtfully, "so what did you have in mind?"

"We come up with a common goal for everyone Omashu to work towards, something that will also help them see that hating each other is pointless."

"They already have that, Aang," Sokka argued, "The Fire Lord is a threat to everyone in the city right now, and it's making things worse not better."

"That's because there's nothing they can really _do_ about it except sit here and worry. Which is why we need to give them an _activity_," insisted Aang, "Something they can accomplish together that will get their mind off of the larger problem…something _fun_."

"Like a festival," stated Zuko with a small, knowing smirk.

Delighted that Zuko of all people was the one to catch on first, Aang looked back over his shoulder with an impish smile.

"Exactly."

"Does the Earth Kingdom even celebrate the solstice?" wondered Sokka aloud.

"Don't ask me," advised Toph grumpily, "I barely got to celebrate my birthday."

"I don't know if they do or not," Aang shrugged doubtfully, and then brightened as he added, "that's what I want to ask Bumi."

* * *

The group of six was assembled in the throne room, Iroh having come across them as they arrived at the palace and eager to hear what plan they had in mind for resolving the animosity between the two disparate peoples now residing in Omashu. 

"Oh, solstice festivals are always fun!" Bumi said cheerfully in response to Aang's question.

Aang's face lit up with hope at the king's remark…

"It's too bad we don't celebrate solstice," the old man continued blithely.

…and then fell in disappointment.

"Well," prompted Sokka with a note of exasperation, "what holidays _do_ you celebrate in Omashu?"

The crazy king furrowed his shaggy eyebrows in thought, mumbling to himself as he ran through a list of occasions.

"Hrm, let's see…there's the Spring Equinox, in the spring naturally…oh, and Flopsie's birthday! That's in the winter, big party for that one…and silly walk day every three months….and opposite day on the first full moon of the third month…"

As he continued his ramble, Katara looked over at her brother wryly.

"You just _had_ to ask, didn't you?"

"And then of course there's the annual Tea Festival…" Bumi rattled off, oblivious to the others who by now were barely paying attention.

"A tea festival?!" said Iroh excitedly.

"_No_," Zuko growled with a nasty look at the older fire bender.

"And Founding Day is coming up…"

"Founding day?" interrupted Aang hopefully. "What is that?"

"It's the day we celebrate the creation of Omashu," Bumi answered dismissively, "but it's probably nothing you kids would enjoy."

"But you said it was coming up soon," Aang interjected with rising excitement, "when do you celebrate it?"

"On the summer solstice," Bumi answered distractedly.

Everyone in the room stared at the king in shock for a moment before Sokka exploded.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"You didn't ask," Bumi shrugged mildly, ignoring the water tribe boy as he smacked his hand to his forehead. "Now let's see, where was I…?

"Wait!" pleaded Katara quickly before the old man could go off on a tangent, "how does Omashu celebrate Founding Day?"

"Oh people just get all romantic and mushy, exchanging presents, spouting off poems and love songs all day," the king simpered with a bored yawn, "and everyone makes a big fuss about having a date for the huge banquet that night."

"That's perfect!" crowed Aang, hopping elatedly to his feet on a gust of air. He could hardly believe his good fortune at there being such a significant Omashu festival on the exact same day as the Fire Nation's biggest holiday.

"It is?" asked Bumi skeptically, then shrugged. "If you say so, but I'm sure there's something more interesting…"

"No, this is just the thing," Aang reassured him.

"I guess I'll get the announcement made then," the old king said unenthusiastically.

"Well," shrugged Katara with a cheerful look at Aang, "it looks like you have your big event."

"Yeah," agreed Sokka, rubbing his hands together expectantly and salivating noticeably, "A feast!"

"And love songs," Iroh sighed almost dreamily, to which Zuko dropped his forehead onto his hand in mortified resignation.

Toph only harrumphed as she set her chin in her hand with a pout.

"When's the _tea_ festival?"

* * *

Ty Lee waddled around the room, grunting and growling. 

"Platypus-bear," Mai droned, rolling her eyes.

"Wow, you're really good at this game," the acrobat chirped happily as she stood up straight.

"That's because you've done all these a thousand times," the other girl muttered under her breath.

Oblivious to the remark, Ty Lee crouched down on all fours, preparing to imitate another animal, when the door to the room swung open. Mai rose to her feet immediately as Azula walked in, but Ty Lee hadn't even noticed and continued on with her animal-mime.

"What _are _you doing?" asked the princess archly.

The half-prone girl gasped and spun around, standing upright as she did so.

"Oh we were just...uh...," she stammered with a light blush rising to her cheeks.

"Never mind," Azula interrupted with a dismissive wave, "I'm sure I don't want to know."

"Please tell me we'll be allowed off the ship," Mai sighed, "before we have to spend two more weeks heading home."

"As a matter of fact," Azula answered smugly, "we'll be getting off as soon as we reach the harbor…and we aren't going to the Fire Nation just yet."

"We're not?" asked Ty Lee.

"No," the princess replied, examining her nails casually, "Father wants me to take care of a few minor problems before returning."

"So where are we going then?" Mai inquired, trying not to show her relief at not being stuck on a ship any longer.

"Wherever we need to go," Azula responded slyly before turning to face the young noblewoman with an expression of malice that made Mai's heart falter. And Azula's face lit up with a predatory grin as she added, "But since we're near New Ozai, I thought we'd start by paying Mai's family a visit."

_

* * *

_

_Commercial Break_


	4. Ch 4 Invitation

Sokka and Suki sat knee to knee at the low table in the apartment, both of them jotting down notes and calculations while Zuko sorted through several pages worth of warehouse manifests. Glancing up from his paperwork, he caught the couple exchanging yet another one of their flirtatious looks, and the prince cleared his throat discretely to bring them back to the task at hand.

"Okay, moving right along," said Sokka briskly, tearing his eyes from Suki, "how many dolls are there?"

"A hundred," Zuko replied, scanning the page.

"Then we'll need more," stated Sokka with a small frown as he reviewed his figures, "We've got a hundred and sixteen girls."

"I'll add it to the list," Suki sighed as she made a few marks on her parchment.

The door to the apartment opened and Katara walked in followed by Toph, while Suki continued to look the page over glumly.

"How are we going to get all this done in only three days?" she groaned wearily, "The list just keeps getting longer."

"Well, you can mark the banquet food off," Katara offered as she closed the door behind her, "Toph and I found a shop that will cater, so we got that taken care of."

She joined the others at the table while Toph flopped down on a pile of nearby pillows, arms folded across her chest and scowling.

"Actually, _you _took care of it," the blind girl retorted grumpily, "_I_ just got dragged all over the city."

Katara opened her mouth to make a comment, but she was interrupted when the door flew open and Aang bounded cheerfully into the room with a smiling Iroh close behind. Both were carrying stacks of freshly printed announcements.

"The posters are done!" crowed Aang, setting his pile on a nearby counter. Walking over to the table, he glanced over Sokka's shoulder at the to-do list. "How is that list coming along?"

"I'm not sure we'll be able to get everything ready in time," Sokka answered doubtfully.

"Wow, that _is_ a lot of stuff," Aang admitted, scanning the page. "Sooo…" he said slyly, pulling a paper from Iroh's stack and holding it aloft triumphantly, "I guess it's a good thing I had _these_ printed up too."

Katara took the sheet and read it over, nodding approvingly.

"A request for volunteers," she looked up at the air bender with a smile, "great idea Aang."

"Come on, everybody grab some," Aang requested, "If we hurry, we can get them all up by nightfall."

Everyone but Toph gathered around, took up some leaflets from each stack, and headed out the door. As Aang was about to leave, he noticed the blind earth bender still lounging on the pile of cushions.

"Aren't you coming, Toph?"

"What for?" she snorted, "It's not like you need me to go posting things backwards and upside down."

"Then you could…" he fetched about trying to think of something she could do to help, but coming up empty, suggested somewhat lamely, "keep me company?"

"I already _did_ that job once today with Sweetness," she stated crossly.

"Oh," replied Aang dejectedly, "okay. Well…we'll be back in a little while then."

Getting no response but silence, he sighed and left. Once he was gone, Toph finally called out dryly to the empty room.

"Have fun."

* * *

Aang sailed over the city on his glider as the sun sank below the horizon. Using the increased speed of his air bending to get around, he'd managed to finish posting his notices well before the others, and was now on his way back to the apartment. 

The front room was almost completely dark when he walked in and, setting his staff aside, he walked over to the paper lantern sitting on the counter. Drawing a deep breath, he rubbed his palms together excitedly for a moment and then focused on the candlewick.

As his face screwed up into a tight knot of concentration, the entire lantern erupted into flames. Opening his eyes to check his handiwork, he stepped back from the small inferno with panicked yell.

"Aaah!"

His eyes darted around the room, and spotting a pitcher of water, he bent the liquid out and onto the burning lantern, dousing the flames with a hiss of steam. A short sigh of frustration escaped his lips as he surveyed the mess.

"Darn-it."

"If you're going to burn the place down practicing your fire bending," Toph remarked, apparently having never moved from her pile of cushions, "can you at least let me get out of the room first?"

Aang started slightly in surprise. He hadn't seen her there in the dark.

"Heh-heh," he laughed sheepishly, "Sorry."

As he went about the task of cleaning up the soggy, charred lantern, and lighting the other lamps in the room (this time using a proper candle lighter), he glanced furtively from time to time at his earth bending teacher, who stared sightlessly at the ceiling the whole time with a glum expression on her face.

"Is everything okay?" he asked at last.

"Why wouldn't it be?" she replied sounding thoroughly bored.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "you just…don't seem to be very excited about the festival."

"What is there to be excited about?" she snapped. "I don't care about toys, fireworks are pretty much wasted on me, and as for the big banquet…." Her voice trailed off, the comment unfinished.

"What's wrong with the feast?"

"Nothing, if you have a date," she replied testily, then added almost mockingly, "It's 'couples only'."

"So then…you find someone to go with you," Aang reasoned innocently. It seemed like an easy enough solution.

"Pft!" she scoffed. "And exactly how many people do _you_ know would want to have dinner with a _blind_ girl that could easily kick their butt."

Aang cocked his head to one side in bewilderment. He didn't see why Toph's blindness would be a problem considering how very capable she was. And Katara could beat just about anyone in a fight, even Zuko, and he was pretty sure no one thought any less of her. So he simply couldn't understand why Toph believed no one would want to be around her just because she was blind and powerful. It didn't make any sense.

"Well," Aang replied with a simple shrug, "_I_ would." Suddenly his face brightened. "In fact," he stated, walking over to where she sat and announcing formally with a slight bow, "Toph Bei Fong, it would be my _honor_ to accompany you to the banquet."

The girl's face darkened into an angry scowl as she stood up, ready to give him a verbal lashing for making what she assumed had to be a childish joke. But as her feet touched the stone floor, the harsh words died on her tongue. Her eyebrows knit together as she sensed carefully for some indication that he was lying, and finding none, she straightened in surprise.

"You're…_serious_," she realized disconcertedly.

"I sure am," replied Aang confidently.

Blind eyes blinked involuntarily as this unusual development fully registered in Toph's brain. She mulled the idea over for a moment, and then smiled.

"Alright, Twinkle Toes," she said almost challengingly, poking a finger into his chest, "You got yourself a date." Just as Aang's face broke into a wide grin, she added, "But if you try anything funny, I'll bury you right up to your big ears."

With that, she turned and left the room leaving Aang standing there in mild perplexity. Self-consciously he reached up and touched his ears, gingerly pressing his fingers around the outer edges, and then tugging on them slightly as he wondered aloud.

"What has everyone got against my ears?"

* * *

When Aang arrived the next morning at the designated area for the volunteers to meet, his jaw dropped in shock. He had expected maybe a dozen citizens, if that. But what he got was a crowd of over fifty people. Scanning the faces before him, however, he could see a great deal of animosity interspersed with an occasional expression of curiosity, and the assembly was neatly split down the middle into Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom groups. 

"It's a good thing we decided against offering refreshments," Iroh remarked in awe as he came up beside the young Avatar.

"No kidding," Aang agreed nervously. "I really didn't expect so many. I just hope they can all get along."

Iroh placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You'll do just fine."

* * *

It didn't take long at all to get people sorted and set to the various tasks that needed done, and Aang had made sure that there was a good mix of both nations in each group. While it did initially increase the tension level for all concerned, most people soon learned that there were definite benefits to having both and Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens working together. 

Zuko was in charge of sorting goods in the warehouse, and was very glad for the two earth benders that had been assigned to assist. Of course, the three fire nation teens that had come along with them hadn't been too pleased at first, but when they discovered that the earth benders could just scoot the stone tiles, crates and all, across the room and spare them a lot of heavy lifting, they became much more cooperative.

It helped that Zuko was, for the first time in quite a while, completely at ease with what he was doing. Giving orders was something he was accustomed to, but even though the situation was familiar, there was something still completely foreign to it. Perhaps it was the fact that he felt no need to shout, or make demands, or try to intimidate anyone. Whatever it was, he found himself thinking that this wasn't nearly as awkward or annoying as he feared it would be.

"I found it!" called a boy from behind a stack of crates.

Looking over in the direction of the voice, Zuko was greeted by a huge paper dragonhead suddenly poking up over a box.

"How many are in there?" asked the prince as he came over and poked through the container.

"Just the one," the boy replied. Zuko frowned slightly as he checked the warehouse manifest in his hand.

"There's supposed to be another…"

"Here it is," announced one of the earth benders, an older man with a pleasant disposition, from the other side of the pile. "Where do you want them?"

"Move them over by the lanterns, and-" Zuko began instructing but before he could finish his directions, Sokka entered the warehouse.

"Time for lunch!" he sang out cheerfully.

Everyone in the room looked up, the faces of the volunteers bright and eager for a break.

"We'll take care of it afterwards," Zuko said to the earth bender, who gave a polite nod before heading toward the door, passing Sokka as he came up to stand beside the prince.

"Looks like you've gotten a lot done," he remarked as he looked around at the neatly sorted crates.

"It's going much better than I expected," Zuko admitted honestly.

"You know," said the warrior casually as the two made their way out of the warehouse, "I'm beginning to think this crazy idea of Aang's just might work after all. Which is good," he rambled, "because after the last few weeks of craziness, I think we definitely earned a little down-time."

Zuko only nodded silently as Sokka continued blathering on while they walked down the street.

"And you should see the spread they have planned for that banquet too. Roast bear-boar, deep-fried cat-shrimp," he rattled off dreamily, "sugared peach-cakes-"

"Don't you ever think about anything besides food?" the prince interrupted with a hint of exasperation.

"Of course I do!" insisted Sokka. Zuko glanced sidelong at him with a sarcastic smirk.

"Name something."

"Girls," the boy answered promptly.

"Figures," the prince mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Oh what, like _you_ never think about them?" challenged Sokka good-naturedly.

"Not really," he confessed. Sokka threw his new friend an incredulous stare.

"You're joking, right?"

"No," Zuko answered resentfully.

"How can you be sixteen years old, and _not_ think about girls?"

"I've sort of had _other things_ on my mind the past few years," Zuko responded cynically.

Oblivious of the fire bender's tone, Sokka shook his head disbelievingly.

"Well, we're going to have to _change_ that," he decided, and then spotting a pretty Earth Kingdom girl shopping at a nearby booth, turned to Zuko with a grin.

"And fortunately for you," he bragged, "I know just the thing."

* * *


	5. Ch 5 Appeal

Toph drew in a deep breath, her body positioned in a horse-stance, fists pressed together at her chest. Releasing the air from her lungs, her tiny hands shot forward, directing a ripple of rock out in front of her.

The ground rose in a mighty swell toward the stadium-like ring of risers, and as it reached the first tier, a gaggle of scarlet-clad children seated there threw their hands up, squealing with glee as they rode the wave of earth passing beneath them. As the tremor subsided, they all called out excitedly.

"Do it again!" "That was great!" "One more time…pleeeeease?!"

Noticing the arrival of a familiar footstep, Toph shook her head.

"Sorry," she replied with a grin, "but a girl's gotta eat."

A collective sigh of disappointment rose from the group of kids. "Aaww."

"Can we come watch you finish setting up after lunch?" one of the little girls asked.

"Sure."

"Yay!" all the kids cried, then hurried off, barreling past Katara as she came down the tiered arena.

"What was all that about?" asked a confused but smiling Katara.

"Some kids came to watch Bumi and I set up the banquet arena," Toph shrugged, "You'd think they'd never seen an earth bender before."

"Considering those kids are all from the Fire Nation," Katara mused wryly, "they probably haven't."

"Oh! Well…that explains a lot," the blind girl remarked offhandedly. It wasn't as though she could tell the difference between one nationality and another.

As they made their way out of the small stadium, Katara glanced sidelong at the young earth bender, who seemed happier and more relaxed than she had ever been.

"You seem to be in a much better mood today," the older girl remarked innocently.

"Yeah," admitted Toph as though surprised at the realization herself, "I guess I am."

* * *

"Just go up and talk to her," Sokka urged for the umpteenth time. 

"I said I don't want to," Zuko insisted as he crossed his arms stubbornly. But then, in a wistful tone that belied his gruff demeanor, he added faintly, "Dating is pointless."

"How would you know?" argued Sokka. "You've never even been out with a girl before!"

"Actually, I _have_," Zuko murmured, remembering how uncomfortable it had been to be asked questions he couldn't answer, and wouldn't want to even if he could have told the truth. "It was an experience I'd rather not repeat."

"Oh," said Sokka, somewhat surprised by this revelation, but recovering quickly, he went on with the assurance of an expert. "Well, just because you had _one_ bad date, doesn't mean you should swear it off completely. I know girls can be confusing and all but trust me, the only way you'll learn how to deal with them is to keep at it.

"I tell you what," continued Sokka with a sudden tone of epiphany, "you won't even have to do the hard part. I'll set up you on a date and then all you have to do is enjoy yourself at the feast; how about that?"

Zuko let out an annoyed breath and closed his eyes.

"Will it shut you up?" he asked, fixing a hard glare on the self-professed ladies man.

"Yes!" yelled Sokka in frustration, throwing up his hands. Then more calmly, he promised, "Yes, it will shut me up."

"_Fine_," Zuko conceded irritably, and continued to glower as the water tribe warrior beamed triumphantly.

"I've got everything under control," Sokka soothed reassuringly, "so just leave it to me."

Zuko only rolled his eyes, but in doing so, they fell upon the familiar form of Suki headed their way. He glanced back at Sokka in alarm to see if he too had spotted her, but the warrior was already turning to walk over to the girl he'd noticed earlier.

"Sokka, wait!" hissed Zuko, reaching out to stop the other boy, "Su-"

"Will you just relax and trust me!" snapped Sokka good-naturedly as he continued to walk away. And before Zuko could say another word or grab a hold of him, he was at the booth.

Looking back and forth quickly between Sokka and Suki, Zuko grimly pushed his way through the crowd until he stood right in front of the Kyoshi warrior, effectively obscuring Sokka from her sight. She nearly collided with him as he suddenly blocked her path.

"Ah!" she gasped, so taken aback for a moment in surprise that she almost dropped the two drinks she was carrying. "Hi, Zuko," she said uncomfortably, "um…where's Sokka?"

"I uh…" stammered Zuko, completely at a loss. Now that he'd managed to keep her from running into the predisposed water tribe boy, he had no idea what to do.

"I…haven't seen him," he lied with an innocent shrug.

"Really?" she asked, obviously confused, "Katara said she sent him to tell you to break for lunch. Didn't he show up?"

"Oh, he did," Zuko recovered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, "but then he uh…had to…do some…_shopping_, and-"

Zuko's fib was cut short as Sokka's laughter, mixed with a girl's coy giggle, wafted over from the booth. Hearing it, Suki peeked around the prince to spot the source of the sound.

"Sokka?"

As she caught sight of her sweetheart leaning in charmingly towards a blushing girl, Suki's face went from curious to livid. Without a word, she brushed past the disconcerted prince.

"No! Wait!" he implored.

But, just as with Sokka, the girl was beyond his reach before he could do anything to stop her. Zuko's hand went palm first to his forehead; he hoped (_prayed_) that Sokka had gotten far enough along in his flirtatious conversation with the girl to explain that he was trying to hook her up with someone else.

"Your _girlfriend_?"

No such luck. Zuko's eyes were still half-covered when he heard a loud clunk of stoneware accompanied by sloshing liquid, and he looked up in time to see Suki storming toward, and then past him. His eyes followed the path of the furious Kyoshi warrior then, turning back to the scene before him, he winced as the sound of a resounding slap rang out across the market.

A moment later, Sokka walked up to Zuko, a cup half-cocked on the water tribe boy's head, its contents dripping down a face now painted with a bright red, hand-shaped mark on one cheek.

"So," Sokka said with remarkable composure, "what was it you were going to say a moment ago?"

"That Suki was coming," Zuko replied uneasily.

"Yeah," nodded Sokka resignedly, "that's what I thought."

* * *

As soon as Sokka left to get cleaned up, Zuko went off to find Suki. Fortunately, he ran into Toph and Katara, who pointed him in the right direction. As he made his way to the banquet arena, he wondered why it mattered so much. 

He had no idea why he felt obligated to do this. It wasn't his fault that the dolt had insisted on trying to set him up on some stupid date. And Zuko had tried to warn him of Suki's impending arrival, had even attempted to stop her from seeing what was going on. So he was certain this mess had nothing to do with him, yet for reasons he could not explain, even to himself, he was compelled to try and set things right.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that by the time he found Suki sitting a few tiers down into the stadium, he realized to his dismay that he had no idea how to explain things. So, he did the only thing he knew to do: dive in headlong and hope for the best.

"It wasn't what you think," he said quietly.

Suki straightened immediately at the sound of his voice but did not turn around, and her hand flew up to her face for the briefest of moments, as if to wipe away a tear. There was the faint sound of a 'sniff' before she spoke.

"And why would I believe _you_ of all people?" she asked harshly.

Zuko hung his head defeatedly, once again questioning why he even bothered to do this; of _course_ she wouldn't believe anything he said. He was still barely less than an enemy in her eyes. But he had come this far, and it just wasn't in his nature to give up without trying.

"Because I have no reason to lie to you," he answered.

"Except to try and cover for your conniving, two-timing friend Sokka," she shot back, still not turning to face him.

"I'm not sure I know him well enough to be considered a...friend," Zuko stumbled a bit over that last word; it still felt so out of place on his tongue. "But that doesn't seem to keep him from trying," he added ruefully.

This statement apparently caught Suki's attention, for she glanced back over her shoulder at the prince.

"What do you mean?" she asked with candid curiosity.

Taking a step down to be on the same tier as Suki, Zuko mulled his answer over as he took up a seat to her left.

"He wasn't asking that girl to go on a date with _him_," the prince said uncomfortably, unable to look Suki in the eye. "He was speaking to her…"

Zuko paused to take a breath, suddenly not wanting to admit the embarrassing truth of the situation, but he knew he had to say it.

"…On _my_ behalf."

"But," Suki shook her head in confusion and looked at him quizzically, "why would he-"

She stopped abruptly as Zuko turned his face to her, and her gaze rested on his scar. Judging by his expression, Zuko he knew _exactly_ why Sokka had taken it upon himself to try and secure him a date. Immediately regretting the question, Suki looked away, chastened.

"So then…you," she began, unsure of how to ask what she wanted to know.

"I didn't ask him to," Zuko explained firmly, realizing what she was thinking. "He just thought he'd be…._helpful_," he finished dourly.

At this, Suki couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"That sounds like Sokka," she admitted, "he can go little overboard sometimes trying to 'help'."

"More than a little," the prince muttered under his breath. "Anyway," he continued more audibly, "I didn't want you to think he was being unfaithful. And I'm sorry for causing any trouble."

With that, he stood up and began to leave, but when she called out his name, he stopped and looked back at her.

"Thank you for telling me," she said sincerely. "You didn't have to, and…I really appreciate it."

His only response was to give her a respectful and decidedly regal half-bow before walking away.

* * *

"Why do you think Zuko was looking for Suki?" wondered Katara aloud. "They both seemed pretty upset." 

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we're happier not knowing," Toph answered lightly.

"I guess," Katara agreed reluctantly, taking one last glance over her shoulder toward the arena.

As the two made their way to a nearby teashop, Katara observed her blind friend with a critical eye. There was something so completely different about her: a particular smoothness to her stride, a soft contentment in her expression.

"Ok, Toph," Katara demanded at last, "what gives?"

"What do you mean?" asked the girl, with a marked lack of sarcasm or ire.

"Yesterday you didn't want to have anything to do with the celebration planning, and then today you seem to be having the time of your life. Why the sudden change?"

"Maybe I just decided that this festival stuff isn't so bad after all," she responded, with a shrug, the faintest hint of a blush hiding beneath her long bangs.

"Did someone ask you to the banquet?" asked Katara suspiciously, a sly smirk spreading across her lips.

"Maaaaybe," Toph drawled, her face breaking into a wide grin of her own.

"I knew it!" the older girl cried elatedly. "So when do I get to meet him?"

"Actually," Toph announced matter-of-factly, "you already have."

Katara stopped walking and blinked a couple of times in bewilderment.

"Really?"

"Yup," Toph chirped, and then went on with a casual wave of her hand, "I'd give you three guesses, but since he's coming up right behind us…"

"Hi Toph! Hey Katara!"

Katara's eyes widened in shock at the sound of his voice, and her heart suddenly plummeted to the pit of her stomach. She could hear her pulse thudding in her ears as she slowly turned around to see…

"Aang."

**

* * *

Author's Note:** For some reason, this story isn't turning out to be as 'romantic' as I had originally envisioned. Romance isn't my strongest area so I can't tell if this qualifies or not and whether I should change the genre listing or leave it as it stands. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated... 


	6. Ch 6 Revel

Katara ate her meal silently, preferring to listen half-heartedly as Aang rambled on excitedly about how things were going with the festival preparations, while Toph cracked jokes and teased him about his enthusiasm. Neither of them seemed to notice that she wasn't joining in on the conversation, so that left her the small luxury of observing the two and attempting to sort out the confusing mix of emotions she was feeling.

It truly did warm Katara's heart to see Toph so content and jovial. The poor girl had been denied the companionship of friends her whole life, and when she had first joined their rag-tag group, it had been such a difficult adjustment. But over time, and especially since Iroh and Zuko had come along, the gruff little earth bender had slowly opened up; finally becoming almost as animated as Aang. So Katara fully believed that Toph deserved the fun she was obviously having, especially right now.

And Aang seemed to be enjoying himself as well. In fact, he hadn't been this exuberant since he awoke from his near-fatal injury a few weeks ago. He'd been so serious and anxious lately, causing her no end of worry, and seeing him acting like his old self again was comforting and uplifting.

So why did she feel so bothered at the prospect of the two youngest members of the team going to the banquet together? They were all friends here, right?

"So what do you think, Katara?" Aang's voice snapped the girl from her contemplations and she had no idea what he was asking.

"I'm sorry," she blinked, "what?"

"Me doing a bending performance at the banquet," Aang repeated, "Toph seems to think people might enjoy a show."

"If those kids watching Toph and Bumi set up are any indication," she shrugged agreeably, "I think they probably would. Just um," she added hesitantly with a teasing smile, "no fire bending, okay? You're still a little unpredictable with that," she finished with a giggle.

The Avatar's fire bending mishaps were becoming something of ongoing joke among the group. More often than not, his lack of control caused minor disasters, and everyone made it a point to leave the area when he was trying to practice.

"I know," he groaned sulkily, "I really _am_ working on it. But it's a lot harder than I expected."

"It's okay," she consoled optimistically, putting a hand on his shoulder, "you just need more practice….but not in front of an audience."

"Speaking of audiences," remarked Toph with a cocky grin, "I should probably be getting back to mine."

"Yeah, I should get going too," decided Aang. "I need to see if Zuko found all the decorations yet so we can get people to start putting them up."

As Aang and Toph made their way to the door, the air bender looked back at Katara.

"You coming?"

"No, I need to talk to the owner," Katara explained, waving her hand toward the man behind the counter, "this is the teashop that's preparing the food for the banquet."

"Okay," Aang shrugged happily, "See you later then."

She smiled and waved as her friends left but once they were gone, her face fell, and she sighed dejectedly, wondering once again why she felt so inexplicably disappointed.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set as Zuko arrived back at the apartment. On the way there, he had passed Sokka and Suki, sitting closely on a bench in the building's courtyard garden, their backs to him as they talked softly, hands entwined. Completely unnoticed by the couple, he couldn't help but smile slightly in satisfaction as he went up the stairs. 

Momo greeted him as he walked into the dim parlor, landing on his shoulder and crooning for attention. Zuko absently stroked the lemur with one hand while he made his way around the room lighting all the lanterns with barely more than a touch to each candlewick. Having finished that, Zuko collapsed wearily on one of the long cushioned benches running the length of the partition separating the main room from the bedrooms.

A muffled thump on the other side of the wall to her room caused Katara to sit upright from where she lay on the bed. Seeing the glow of light through the paper-screened door, she quietly got up to see who was home.

"Hello?" she called timidly as she poked her head out.

"H'lo."

She turned her head toward the muffled 'hello' that answered to find Zuko laying on the bench with one arm draped over his eyes and the other petting the lemur curled up on his chest.

"You look exhausted," she observed.

"It's been a long day," he admitted tiredly, deciding not to mention that part of his fatigue was due to not having a chance to each any lunch.

His stomach however, wasn't so discreet, and Momo's head perked up inquisitively as a low growl erupted from it. Katara heard it as well, and immediately walked over to the kitchenette to look for food.

"Are you hungry? I can fix you something to eat," she offered kindly.

"That's okay," he declined, settling the perplexed lemur back down with a vigorous rub behind the ears. "Uncle Iroh is supposed to be bringing food; said he figured you might be too tired to cook."

She giggled slightly as his stomach rumbled again.

"You sure you can wait that long?"

"I'll be fine," he insisted drowsily.

With dinner apparently being taken care of already, Katara suddenly realized she had nothing to occupy herself with, and standing there in the kitchen, she began to feel the awkward weight of silence. She wanted to ask Zuko why he'd been looking for Suki earlier, but she couldn't quite bring herself to voice what might be considered a personal question.

Even though the tension between her and the prince had lessened considerably over the last few days, to the point where they could have a fairly decent conversation without either of them becoming pensive or upset, there was still a barrier of timidity that prevented anything beyond meaningless pleasantries or necessary discussions about what needed to be done on a day-to-day basis. It was sort of an unspoken agreement between them not bring up their less-than-amicable history, or pry into each other's lives.

"I wonder were everyone else is," she said casually, more to fill the empty stillness than anything else. "I expected they'd be back by now."

"Your brother and Suki are downstairs in the courtyard," he informed her, not lifting his arm from his eyes, "and I saw Toph and Aang entertaining some kids across the street."

"I hope Aang isn't trying any fire bending tricks," she fretted good-humouredly.

"Toph won't let him," he said reassuringly, unable to suppress a wry smirk as he raised his arm a bit to glance at Katara. Then he added dryly, "and he actually _listens_ to _her_."

At this remark, an unexpected pang of sadness clenched Katara's heart, and it was clearly reflected on her face. Seeing it, Zuko lifted his arm up completely to give her a puzzled look.

"What?"

Katara only shook her head slightly.

"It's just….it's nothing," she replied with a forced smile.

Zuko didn't look convinced, and when he sat up to regard her fully, she feared he might break the implied understanding they'd maintained of not breeching any personal topics. But before he had a chance to consider it, Iroh walked in carrying two delicious smelling baskets of food with the rest of the gang close behind him.

"Who's hungry?" he called out cheerfully as he set the packages on the counter.

Several cries of 'I am' and 'me' rang out through the room, but when Zuko's stomach seemed to answer the loudest, the others burst out laughing. With a somewhat sheepish grin, the hungry fire bender crossed the room to join them.

And no one noticed the brief but meaningful look that passed between Zuko and Katara as they all sat down to eat.

* * *

The next two days passed swiftly, and as the first glow of dawn barely kissed the eastern sky on the morning of the festival, Aang was awake and ready to go. Iroh was also up, preparing a light meal as the excited young air bender zipped around on his air scooter. 

From their shared bedroom, Toph and Katara could hear Aang shouting at the two older boys, trying to wake them up without much success.

"So, Toph," started Katara hesitantly as she braided her hair, "Bumi had some clothes brought over here yesterday. Did you want help picking something out for tonight?"

"What's wrong with what I usually wear?"

"Nothing," Katara reassured quickly, "I just thought…maybe you'd want to look...nicer…for your date."

"It's just Aang," replied Toph unconcernedly.

For some reason, this response surprised Katara, and she blinked at the other girl for a moment, not sure what to say.

"Oh. So…the two of you aren't," she fumbled awkwardly, "you know…"

Now it was Toph's turn to blink in surprise as she figured out what Katara was getting at.

"What? Me and _Twinkle Toes_?" laughed Toph, obviously finding the idea absurd. "No way! I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Aang as a friend and all but…anything beyond that would just be…_weird_. Why would you even think that?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

Suddenly feeling like an idiot, Katara blushed slightly in embarrassment. Why _would_ she think that?

"I…I dunno, you two going to the banquet together, and you just seemed so…overly happy the last few days, I sort of assumed…" her voice trailed off helplessly as she realized how utterly ridiculous she sounded.

Toph only chuckled at her friend's discomfiture.

"Aang only offered to be my date because he wanted to cheer me up," she explained sensibly. "And it worked too. But trust me; we're both only going for the food."

With that, Toph left the room, and Katara sat there for a few long moments, silently berated herself for jumping to such outlandish conclusions. She'd spent two days feeling awkward and confused over nothing. Naturally, they were just going as friends, how could she have imagined there was something more?

But as she finished fixing her hair, Katara couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of relief.

* * *

As the first rays of light peeked over the mountains, the city of Omashu burst into life. Bells, chimes, and drums rang out across the main plaza, heralding the rising of the sun as the celebration began. 

A parade of giant paper dragons, jugglers, and dancers wound their way through the crowded streets, handing out bags of treats and toys to all the children, regardless of nationality. Most of the older Earth Kingdom residents looked on in disdainful curiosity, but the younger children gazed in awe and delight at the spectacle.

Aang and the others watched from the railing on the middle tier, the young Avatar beaming with satisfaction.

"Well, Aang, I gotta hand it to you," Sokka said, clapping a hand on the boy's shoulder, "you actually pulled it off."

"No," he replied happily, still staring at the people below, "_we_ pulled it off."

Sokka smiled in reply, but his expression changed to one of pure delight as the smell of food wafted up from the festivities.

"And now," he declared, smacking his lips hungrily, "it's time to go enjoy all our hard work!"

With that, he grabbed Suki by the hand and headed off toward the staircase that would take them down to the celebration. The Kyoshi warrior merely groaned teasingly as she was led off.

They didn't get far, however, before nearly colliding with Governor Yaozu as he came hurrying toward the balcony where the others were gathered. He looked to be in a state of pure panic as he rushed up, holding a slip of parchment in his hand.

"What's wrong?" asked Iroh with concern.

The other man was too shaken to speak, and merely held up the paper with trembling hands.

"A message," he stammered out.

Zuko quickly took the page and scanned over the writing. His good eye flew wide.

"What is it?" demanded Aang nervously as he and the others crowded around.

Even before he spoke, everyone knew that whatever the news was, it was not good. But they still weren't prepared for the prince's horrified announcement.

"Azula is coming."

_

* * *

_

_Commercial Break_

**Author's Note:** Once again, I'd like to recommend some really awesome stories for your reading pleasure!

**100 Years** by AssaultSloth – for all the people who wish (as I do) that there were more of Bumi in my stories! This is a fascinating speculation about the adventured-filled life of our favorite 112-year-old 'Mad Genius'.

**A Matter of Patience** (also by AssaultSloth) – Another Bumi tale, but this time he's sharing the stage with the Blind Bandit! I had actually wanted to incorporate this as background for part of this story, but the scene had to be cut to maintain the time constraints of my 'episode' format. cries So definitely read this one, it's a _riot_!

**Unintended Rendezvous** by Blackfire 18 – This is a little gem I thought I'd share for all the Mai/Zuko shippers who may be disappointed at the lack of interaction between those two in my stories thus far (but I'm working on that for an upcoming 'episode', so stay tuned).

So please visit my favorites list to find these and other great stories. And don't forget to leave the talented authors a much-deserved review! D


	7. Ch 7 Charade

Iroh took the slip of paper from Zuko and looked it over warily while the others stared at the prince, shocked at what he'd just told them. At last, Sokka voiced what all of them feared.

"How did she find out about the surrender?"

"I'm not sure she did," stated Iroh calmly, still reading the page.

"If she doesn't know, then why else is she coming?" argued Zuko. "Azula isn't the type to make a social visit."

"Perhaps not," answered Iroh, "But the message only says to prepare for her arrival around midday and she would not have sent this if she thought the city was compromised. We should not jump to conclusions."

"Even so," interjected Sokka, "once she gets here and sees all these Earth Kingdom citizens, she's going to figure it out. And when she does…"

"The lives of everyone in this city will be forfeit," Yaozu finished in a dismal whisper.

"We aren't going to let that happen," Aang declared firmly. "But we do need find out why she's here."

"And how are supposed to do that?" asked Sokka.

Aang looked thoughtfully down at the city below, and his voice was confident when he spoke again.

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

The gates of Omashu were thrown wide just as the sun reached its zenith and the princess rode in with Mai and Ty Lee close behind. The sounds of celebration quieted at Azula's approach, and all the citizens kowtowed as the small entourage of mounted mongoose-dragons passed. 

After almost two weeks of suffering through Huo's thinly veiled lack of respect, the mass subservience of common peasants was just the thing to make Azula feel better. Fear practically oozed from the crowd, washing over her like the intoxicating effect of a drug. But in spite of the deliciously rewarding sensation, she kept her expression regal and severe.

With her eyes fixed mostly forward and only barely skimming the crowd disdainfully, she naturally did not notice the true nature of those bowing before her. She did not see nor would have recognized the earth bender, who had only days ago helped her brother in the warehouses and like all the other Earth Kingdom citizens was now dressed in Fire Nation attire exchange an uneasy glance with the fire bender who cowered alongside him.

Nor did she notice, as the people behind her returned to their feet after she passed, that two cloaked figures on opposite sides of the plaza were shadowing the small procession through the city. Had she been less absorbed in her own internal gloating, she might not have missed these things as she made her way to the governor's house.

Her companions however were a little less focused on their destination. And as Mai glanced lazily around at the bright decorations, she could have sworn her gaze wandered over a disfigured young man staring at her from beneath the shadows of a heavy cowl. But when her eyes raced back to the spot to verify what she saw, he was gone, and she could find no cloaked and hooded people walking about.

Shaking her head, she attributed the apparition to her conversation with Ty Lee a few days ago, and she quickly dismissed the sighting as a fanciful mirage. She took only a swift look back as they ascended the steps to the middle tier.

Once the procession had left the plaza, Zuko stepped out from the alley he'd ducked into when Mai had looked his way. Catching Sokka's eye from across the square, he nodded once to the other boy: all clear…so far.

* * *

Governor Yaozu stared in disbelief at the paper Princess Azula had handed him, and he was grateful that protocol demanded he stay on his knees because he was fairly certain his legs would not support his weight should he try to stand. 

He was originally terrified beyond all reason that she would discern what had happened four days ago and kill him on the spot. But after reading the warrant he held, he realized that his concerns for his own fate were trivial in comparison.

Azula waited with smug patience as he took it all in. Realizing she expected a response, he cleared his throat.

"I'll have more copies printed and distributed throughout the city and surrounding provinces immediately, Your Highness."

"See to it that you do," she replied pleasantly. She glanced over at Mai for a moment and smiled wickedly before continuing with the same casual tone.

"And naturally, this development releases you from your previous obligations to the Fire Lord regarding Mai, so you are finally free to make more…appropriate arrangements."

"Of course, Princess," he said carefully. Then remembering this information was meant to be a boon, he quickly touched his forehead to the floor and added, "Thank you, Princess."

Mai looked from her royal friend to her father in confusion, completely at a loss as to what they were discussing. Realizing, however, that this was not the time to inquire, she held her tongue, deciding that perhaps she was better off not knowing. But as she caught the sadistic gleam in the princess's eye, she guessed that Azula was going to enjoy telling her later. The thought made her stomach turn.

* * *

"The boys are back," Toph announced to the others in the small antechamber in the governor's house, just before the door slid silently open. 

Iroh and Katara both breathed a sigh of relief when Zuko and Sokka walked in, the latter munching happily from a small paper basket full of deep-fried vegetables. Seeing this, the water bender frowned irritably at her brother.

"Sokka, I can't believe you'd think of eating at a time like this," nagged Katara.

"Mmm, Thuts whuff _heh_ sud," Sokka answered through a mouthful of food, jerking a thumb toward a glaring Zuko.

"Oh, are those fried mushrooms?" Iroh asked eagerly, sliding up alongside the warrior while Aang's stomach complained loudly.

Sokka didn't reply, but only held up the basket for Iroh and Aang to take some. Meanwhile, Zuko and Katara simply gawked at the obliviously hungry boys in amazement before looking each other in resigned exasperation. Still shaking his head, the prince crossed the room to where Toph crouched down with her hand pressed against the floor.

"Can you tell what's going on in there?" he asked her quietly.

"I can," she replied, "but there's not much to tell. If she knows about the surrender, she isn't acting on it. I will say however" continued Top casually, "that if Princess Psychopath sticks around much longer, Yaozu's heart is going to explode from beating so fast. The poor guy is either terrified or furious….I'm guessing terrified."

"Azula has that effect on people," remarked Zuko dryly. "And she won't leave until she gets what she wants."

"Actually," Toph returned, "I think she already took care of whatever business she's here for. She handed him something when she arrived and now she's just sitting there making him sweat."

"Well, the longer she stays," said Katara coming over to join them, "the more danger everyone is in. We need to get her out of the city."

"I still say you should let me bury her under Omashu and she can wander around in the mountain for the rest of her life," Toph declared boldly, "but if you think you think you can get her to leave, Sweetness, by all means go right ahead."

Sokka, despite seeming to be engrossed with the task of eating, had been listening to their conversation. And at Toph's brazen suggestion, he swallowed his food quickly as an idea came to him. His excited cry startled everyone in the room.

"Oh! Oh!" he exclaimed, "I think I know just the thing!"

* * *

Yaozu's knees were beginning to get sore, and he was wishing the little blind earth bender had not insisted he stay in direct contact with the floor. The conversation with Azula had run the gamut of small talk, and he wondered if she was now merely toying with him, withholding her knowledge of the surrender until he let his guard down. 

Azula was looking out over the city from the balcony, and had remarked casually about how impressed she was with the solstice decorations.

"I would be happy to give you a personal tour, Highness," he offered with an inward wince, "if you wish to stay for the festivities."

Ty Lee's face brightened noticeably at the suggestion. She loved festivals and this one looked truly spectacular. Mai didn't seem to care one way or the other.

"It does look…entertaining," Azula admitted primly.

The idea didn't particularly appeal to her, but she kept getting the impression that something was going on that she should know about. A trip through the city could be very enlightening. But as she was about to accept the invitation, a guard rushed into the room with a slip of paper in his hands.

"Forgive the intrusion, Highness," said the man as he fell to his knees before her, holding the page aloft, "but a message just arrived from one of our scouts that may be of interest to you."

She took the page and quickly read it over. As she did so, her lips curled into a cruel smile.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline your gracious offer, Governor," she stated regally, then added with malevolent delight, "I have better things to do. Mai, Ty Lee, we're leaving."

The hopeful expression on the acrobat's face fell into a disappointed pout, but she wiped the frown off as soon as Azula turned her way. Without a word, she followed after the princess. Mai turned to leave as well, but only after she threw her father a questioning look. What had he and Azula been talking about earlier?

Yaozu said nothing, nor did he even return his daughter's glance, but Mai didn't miss the look of pure relief in his eyes. And somehow, that worried her.

* * *

The people in the streets scattered in panic as Azula and her cohorts raced toward the gate on their mongoose-dragons, obviously not concerned with whether or not anyone bowed at her passing. From the balcony of the governor's house, Aang and the others watched her leave. 

"Well that sure got rid of her in a hurry," Aang observed, and then he turned to Sokka with a puzzled look. "What did you write in that message?"

Sokka arched his back in a dramatic attempt at seeming nonchalant.

"Oh it was just a little note about the Avatar being spotted entering the tunnels near Omashu," he replied offhandedly.

"The tunnels?" asked Katara, her brow furrowed in confusion. Suddenly her eyes widened.

"Wait," interjected Aang before she could speak, "you don't mean…"

"You didn't," Katara finally said in disbelief.

The crafty warrior grinned hugely for a moment, before breaking into an off-key song.

"Secret tunnel! SecretTunnel!"

"Through the mountains!" chimed in Aang with a similarly cheesy smile as he draped an arm across Sokka's shoulder. Katara did the same as she joined in as well.

"Secret, secret, secret, TUNNEL!" They ended the song with a flourish of upraised arms.

"Sokka, you're a _genius_!" exclaimed Aang brightly while Katara laughed.

"Yeah…I am," he agreed with mock humility.

Iroh and Zuko merely stood there staring at the trio as if they had each sprouted a second set of ears, while Toph crossed her arms and shook her head.

"I don't _even _want to know."

Iroh let out a brief chuckle, but sobered as he saw Yaozu coming toward them.

"What did she want?" he asked the governor.

Everyone else settled down as well to regard the man curiously. His face was ashen and his expression grave, and in his hands he held a piece of paper. Looking at each of them in turn and finally settling his gaze on Zuko, he handed the page to Iroh, then turned and walked away without saying a word.

Iroh watched apprehensively as the other man left before turning his attention to the page he'd been given. The others looked on in bewilderment as Iroh closed his eyes in heartbroken sadness.

"Uncle, what is it?" asked Zuko with obvious concern for the older man.

"It's…" Iroh's voice cracked when he tried to speak, and he shook his head in dismay.

With a scowl, Zuko took the leaflet and read it himself.

By now, the rest of the gang was deeply worried, and they glanced from Iroh to Zuko with increasing alarm when the prince suddenly seemed to have trouble breathing properly. He stared at the page for several long minutes, before quietly handing it back to Iroh.

"Zuko," started Aang timidly, "are you okay?"

"What did it say?" asked Sokka fearfully.

Katara and Toph also ventured questions, but Zuko didn't acknowledge any of them with as much as a look in their direction before he wandered off in an apparent daze. Aang tried to follow after him, but Iroh held him back with a gentle command.

"Let him go."


	8. Ch 8 Gift

Iroh laid the page down on the table, allowing Zuko's printed face to stare blankly up at Aang and the others as they skimmed over the text. 

They were gathered in the main parlor of the governor's house. Shortly after Azula's departure, Suki had joined them as well, and now they all gazed down at the flyer in confusion and dismay.

"I don't get it," said Sokka quizzically as he picked up the paper, "I thought there was already a warrant out for his arrest."

"Read it," answered Iroh sadly.

Taking a closer look, Sokka began to read aloud, mostly for Toph's benefit since she could not see it herself.

"By direct order of Fire Lord Ozai, Wanted for High Treason: Zuko of the Fire Nation…" he paused as it occurred to him that the warrant did not refer to him as 'Prince Zuko'. His eyes widened when he saw the bounty reward.

"Whoa, Zuko's worth a _fortune_!"

"Sokka!" gasped his sister, appalled by the remark. Even Suki glared disapprovingly at him.

"What?" he shrugged innocently, looking around at the stern faces of his younger friends. Trying to defend his honest reaction he added, "Well he _is_."

"Keep reading," Iroh instructed grimly.

"Persons wishing to claim this bounty should-" He stopped abruptly and swallowed uncomfortably as he digested the information on the page. And when he resumed, the distress and sadness he felt was evident in his voice and he struggled to get the words out of his mouth.

"Should present the…severed head of the criminal…as proof of…his demise," he finished quietly, laying the notice back down on the table.

The room was silent as each of them absorbed this.

"Wasn't he going to be executed anyway if he was caught?" Katara ventured uncertainly.

Once spoken, the question sounded heartless, even to her. But no one chided her, for Sokka and Toph were wondering the same thing as well.

"An execution would have been honorable," Iroh explained gently. "Zuko would have died as a prince, and there was always the chance that it might never happen. He'd have a trial after all. But now…"

Aang picked up the paper and re-read the leaflet to himself before looking to Iroh mournfully as he alone grasped the true significance of what this new warrant meant, especially to Zuko. For the banished prince, it went so much deeper than just a price on his head.

"Ozai disowned him," stated Aang softly.

Iroh only closed his eyes and nodded sorrowfully in reply.

* * *

Zuko sat by the unfinished koi pond in the governor's garden. The water was dark and still, bereft of so much as a single plant, let alone any fish. 

Surprisingly, Zuko felt nothing: no anger, no rage, no bitterness, no emotions whatsoever…not even grief. There was only emptiness…cold and clear, like the water in the pool. His father didn't want him, didn't love him, and the truth was that he probably never had.

His whole life laid spread out before him, stripped bare of its customary trappings of innocent idealism and childhood longing, and for the first time he could examine it with the objective scrutiny of a jeweler sifting raw diamonds from worthless rock, turning over each memory and discarding all but the ones of true value. It was a remarkably brief procedure, for there were only a handful of precious stones to be found among the rubble and most of them centered around only two people: his mother…and his uncle.

Uncle Iroh, the man who had willingly gone into exile with him, who had always forgiven him no matter how horrid he'd been, the only person besides Ursa to ever say the words 'I'm proud of you'. Zuko realized with a pang of guilt that he had never done anything to justify such unconditional devotion from the old man, and as that thought occurred to him, another far more startling revelation hit home: he had never once had to _earn_ Iroh's love.

While Zuko had spent his entire life trying to win the approval and affection of his father, Iroh had been offering it to him all along. _"T__hat kind of love is given freely, without condition or expectation," _his uncle had said once, and Zuko understood at last exactly what that meant.

As if summoned by these thoughts, Iroh suddenly appeared and settled down beside him. The sense of comfort Zuko drew from his mere presence was both immediate and profound, further proving what a powerful effect Iroh had on his life. His uncle would never abandon him the way Ozai had.

The two sat for several minutes in silence, each engaged in their own private thoughts before Iroh finally spoke up.

"You know, you once accused me of being jealous of my brother," he said softly.

Despite the lack of reproach in Iroh's voice, the memory of the moment to which he referred ripped through Zuko's heart like a dagger. What he'd said then had been cruel and untrue and he choked on the regret he now felt, wishing for all the world that he could take back those harsh words.

"Uncle, I-"

"You were right," Iroh interrupted calmly, silencing his nephew as he looked out across the garden. "I _am_ jealous of Ozai. Jealous because I lost my son, only to watch my brother callously cast his own aside." He took a deep breath and stared down into the water before finishing sadly.

"You deserve a better man for a father."

At this, Zuko looked at his uncle with heartfelt sincerity as he finally accepted what he'd foolishly refused admit for far too many years.

"I already _have_ a better man for a father."

Iroh nearly gasped as he met his nephew's unwavering gaze. Surprise and wonder was etched in the lines on the old man's face and his eyes were wet with unshed tears. Zuko couldn't help but grin a bit at his uncle's expression of complete shock, and when Iroh saw the unabashed honesty of that smile, the wellspring of joy he felt finally spilled down his cheeks. He was utterly speechless.

"Come on, old man," Zuko said amicably as he got to his feet and offered a hand down to Iroh, "you look like you could use some tea."

Recovering at last from the onslaught of emotion, Iroh smiled and chuckled as he let his nephew help pull him up.

"Only if you are not the one making it," he teased mildly as they made their way through the garden.

"Actually," Zuko said slyly, "I thought I'd have Momo fix it for you."

"Hmm, a lemur that can make tea," answered Iroh with mock thoughtfulness, happily going along with the joke. "Now that would be _something_. Think of what people would pay to have tea served by a lemur! We'd be famous!"

Zuko only smiled indulgently and shook his head as the two went into the house to share a nice pot of tea.

* * *

"Maybe we should try to make a map of where we've been," suggested Ty Lee timidly, holding the torch aloft so they could get a better view of yet another dead end. 

Azula only shot the girl a vicious glare. They'd been in the cave for over an hour now and were hopelessly lost.

"The Avatar must be earth bending the tunnels to keep us off his trail," the princess reasoned icily.

"How does he keep figuring out we're following him?" wonder Mai aloud.

"I don't know," Azula admitted grudgingly, then added malevolently, "but this trick is _not_ going to work."

The air around her lit up with the telltale charge of her lightning attack and she let the bolt fly at the wall.

* * *

The first firework of the evening exploded in the twilight sky to the appreciative delight of the city below as couples slowly began making their way toward the banquet arena. 

Toph, naturally, was unimpressed by the display and said as much to her friends. But as they passed by a booth of fireworks, Aang got an idea. He hurried over and purchased a small bag from the vendor while Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Katara watched in bewilderment.

"Okay, Toph, watch the ground at my feet," he told her cheerfully. "You're about to see some fireworks."

"If you say so, Twinkle Toes," she replied skeptically.

Aang only grinned as he took a handful of small, paper-wrapped pellets from the bag and tossed them at his feet. The resulting miniature explosions on the cobblestones crackled and popped, lighting up the earth in a wild array of visceral sensation and causing the blind girl to step back in surprise.

"Hey!" she cried excitedly, her face breaking into a huge grin. "Do that again!"

The Avatar happily complied as Iroh and Zuko approached the booth as well.

"You've never beaten me before, Nephew," Iroh was saying to the prince. "In fact, I recall you once swore we'd never do this again."

"I changed my mind," Zuko insisted good-naturedly.

The others had of course been surprised when they saw the two out enjoying the festival, considering how devastated Zuko had seemed after reading the warrant. But they weren't about to question either one of them, instead preferring to simply take it in stride with a sense of pure relief.

Now they all huddled around to see what the pair was up to as Zuko and Iroh each took a sparkler from the booth, and faced off against each other in an almost duel-like fashion.

"Ready," Iroh said, prompting them to hold their sparklers up in front of them.

"Set…" They positioned their fingertips over the top of their sticks.

"Go!"

With a pinch to the tips, the thin wands ignited and the two fire benders focused on the sputtering sparks, forcing them to burn faster. Or rather, that seemed to be the intent. However, Iroh's sparkler burned down at a steady pace, while Zuko's was at a practical standstill.

Suddenly, the older man's stick went out completely, and as Iroh gasped and blinked in surprise at this new development, Zuko's wand flared in a brilliant explosion of sparks before flashing out with a wisp of smoke.

"I win," smirked the prince.

"You put out my sparkler," marveled Iroh petulantly, still staring in shock at the extinguished stick.

"You were slowing mine down," protested Zuko, "that's how you always won!"

"Yes, but I never snuffed it out completely!"

"Can I try too?" piped up Aang, who had watched the whole race with rapt amazement.

The two fire benders looked at each other, then at the Avatar worriedly.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Iroh said tactfully, "after what happened with the campfire last week…"

"And the meditation candles…" added Zuko.

"And the lantern the other day," chimed in Toph dryly, to which the others only regarded her with surprise; they hadn't know about that one.

Aang only pouted dejectedly, and Iroh was about to console him but his attention was diverted as his date for the banquet had arrived. Stepping over to the middle-aged woman, he bowed graciously.

"Dear Lady, you are the picture of loveliness," he said smoothly, pulling a red poppy from his sash and handing it to her.

Sokka watched in awe as the elderly woman blushed and giggled like a love-struck schoolgirl while she tucked the bloom into her hair. Leaning forward, he murmured in the old man's ear.

"Now _that_ was smooth."

Iroh leaned back, his gaze still lingering on the lady, and whispered sagely.

"Years of practice."

A fanfare of drums reverberated across the square, signaling that the banquet was about to start.

"That's the sound I've been waiting for!" announced Sokka eagerly.

Iroh, Aang, and Sokka each took their dates by the arm and headed off toward the feast, leaving Katara and Zuko standing by the booth. Sokka didn't get but a few steps away before stopping and turning around.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked his sister.

"Oh…no," replied sheepishly, "I don't have a date."

Sokka glanced back and forth from the fire bender to the water bender with a slightly puzzled expression.

"So go with Zuko," he suggested as though it were the most obvious and logical thing in the world. "He doesn't have a date either."

Katara blinked in surprise as Zuko looked at her uncertainly.

"But he's not…I mean _we're_ not…" she stammered.

"Oh for crying out loud, Katara," Sokka interjected with exasperation, "he's a guy, you're a girl! The two of you go into the banquet together, no one is going to care that you're only there to eat!"

"Well, I suppose-" she began hesitantly, but Sokka didn't give her a chance to deliberate.

"Then come on!"

And with that, he grabbed Suki's arm again and followed after the others who had slowed down to wait. Their minds having apparently been made up for them, Zuko and Katara merely looked at each other and shrugged as if to say, '_I don't mind if you don't'_, and then walked to catch up with the rest of the group.

Falling in behind their friends, the prince seemed to remember his manners and politely offered Katara his arm, which she accepted with an open smile. As the group wove through the crowd, Aang's pleading request could be heard over the din.

"Can't I try just _one _sparkler race?"

The entire gang answered with a single emphatic voice.

"_No_!"

"Aw man…"

High above the city, the night sky shimmered with stars and colorful explosions as the people below reveled in the festivities for which they had all worked so hard. It was celebration of summer, a celebration of love.

But most of all, it was a celebration of _hope_.

_

* * *

_

_fin_

**Author's note:** I just want to thank all the people who spoke up during the course of this chapter to be counted as a reader. I never really believed there were so many of you!

I also have to say that, as fun as it is to write these stories, the real reward for me is hearing about the things people are enjoying in them. It's what fuels my desire to continue and see this story through to the end. Thank you all so much for your reviews.


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